Resolved: Vegan USA by 2018

Building on Miriam’s “pushy vegan campaign,”
VINE Sanctuary invites every vegan—pushy and otherwise—to join us in
resolving to convince two people to go vegan this year and, in so doing,
begin the process of reforming U.S. food and agriculture in five years.

At present, only 0.5% of people in the United States are vegan. If all of
us convince two people to go vegan, that brings us up to 1.5% at the end of
2013.

Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But do the math: If we do the same the
next year, that brings us to 4.5% of the population by the end of 2014,
Again, and we’re at 13.5% of the population by the end of 2015. Yet again,
and we’re at 40.5% of the population by the end of 2016. One more time and
we can ring in 2018 with vegan nog for everyone!

Of course, all sorts of other changes will have to happen at the same
time. Some will happen naturally. As demand for vegan food rises, costs will
drop [due to economies of scale] and availability will increase [due to new
producers entering a newly attractive market]. But that won’t fix the
problem of lack of access to healthy vegan food in many urban and rural
low-income communities. We’ll need more efforts like the
Food Empowerment
Project. (And vegans will need to do more than just say they support
such projects. Everybody will need to pitch in, doing whatever is needed to
make sure that everybody in their particular city or county has access to
fresh fruit and vegetables, bulk beans and rice, and kitchens to cook in.)

Similarly, as decline for meat, dairy, and eggs drops, some farmers will
be able to easily transition to the more satisfying and lucrative venture of
growing food crops for people. But other farmers, like some former tobacco
farmers who now grow organic vegetables, will need grants and technical
assistance from the state or from non-profits. We’ll also need to do
something about those federal subsidies to the meat and dairy industries,
which artificially lower their prices and elevate their profits while also
helping them to export to other countries.

Whew! That’s a tall order.

You have to start where you are. That’s the first tenet of effective
activism. So, let’s start here and now. Start with where you are, with the
people in your social circle. Those are the folks you know best and with
whom, most likely, you share some socioeconomic and cultural
characteristics. Those are the folks, then, who you are in the best position
to influence.

You don’t have to convince everybody, just two. Perhaps a sibling and an
ex. Or perhaps a neighbor and a coworker. Or perhaps your grandmother plus
that bike-riding barista who you happen to know is lactose intolerant
anyway.

The next tenet of effective activism is educated and mindful trial and
error. Throughout the year, we’ll be sharing tips gleaned from what we
know—not guess, but know—about persuasion, in general and related to
veganism. We’ll also be asking you to join us in information gathering, by
sharing your stories of success or failure.

Psychologists know that persuasion isn’t a one-size-fits-all process.
Some people are swayed by direct and logical argumentation, others by
appeals to emotion. Some think only of self-interest while others are
insulted by the notion that they are only interested in themselves. Some
make snap decisions; others need time to think. Some people balk—becoming
even more unlikely to be persuaded—if they feel pushed. Others like a direct
challenge.

Similarly, we all bring different strengths and weaknesses to the task of
persuasion. Some are skilled at creating those logical arguments, while
others have wonderful intuitions that help them connect at the emotional
level. Some hate to stray even an inch from the realm of rational
argumentation while others feel smothered by demands that they stay within
that realm. Some vegans are great cooks who can bring truly delicious food
to the table while other vegans should be banned from ever bringing a
tasteless casserole to a potluck again.

Some things do seem to be abidingly true across the board. One is that
people are more likely to follow through on pledges that they have actually
verbalized to others. So, first things first:

Please join us in resolving to persuade two people to go vegan this year.
You don’t have to decide which two people yet, just make the pledge. Do so
by making this comment below:

I resolve to persuade two
people to go vegan this year and to encourage every vegan I know to do the
same.

Then, start thinking: Who will you choose? Why? What persuasive tactics
are likely to work with each of them? Why? Are they similar or different?
What will you do or say first for each one? When will you begin?

We’ll keep track of who’s made the pledge. (We’re starting on New Year’s
Day, but anybody can take the pledge and start any time during the year, as
long as they can bring in those two vegans by December 31st 2013.) We’ll
post updates here and also set up a private discussion forum to which people
making the resolution will be invited.

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